Alain Jorion is the first New Zealander to have captured the 'grand slam' of game fishing, comprising a top-class specimen of each of the big game fish -- the billfish slam of black marlin, blue marlin, striped marlin, shortbilled spearfish and broadbill swordfish, and the tuna species (bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye, albacore and skipjack) -- all caught under strict criteria set out by the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council (formerly the Big Game Fishing Council). On the way to this incredible achievement, Alain has done a lot of fishing by anyone's standards. Starting as a youngster on the wharves at Petone in Wellington and on the odd trip to France with his French-born parents, then in Plimmerton on the Kapiti Coast and throughout his working life travelling as a wool buyer, he has fished just about all the waters around the country. He has had some amazing experiences and gleaned skills and a vast knowledge from many people in the process.

Author Biography

Alain Jorion is well known as both a fisherman and a hunter having also claimed the 'grand slam' of hunting, publishing Grand Slam Hunting in 1994. He won the coveted New Zealand Big Game Fishing Council's 'Old Man and the Sea' trophy (donated by filmmaker Warner Brothers) twice, and in 2001-02 was 'Fisherman of the Year' as well as a finalist for the Eastland region for Sportsman of the Year. He lives in Gisborne and is active as a board member on the New Zealand Recreational Fishing Council, campaigning on issues such as better access for recreational anglers to salt-water fishing, and on inequities in the regulations related to the rock lobster quota.